Unlike the National Rifle Association, which spoke essentially with one voice when the group convened in Houston a few weeks ago, Southern Baptists have much to discuss. If there's any overlap between NRA and SBC delegates, we suspect that delegates to the latter are finding more soul-searching (pun intended) in H-Town.

It's been about a decade since the SBC exerted an influence similar to the NRA's. That influence has ebbed as the nation's largest Protestant denomination has lost membership and struggled to find a unified voice on significant social issues, including gay marriage, Boy Scout acceptance of gays, gender equity in both church and society and, of course, abortion and such related issues as insurance coverage for contraception. Discerning which are eternal verities and which are evolving realities is not always easy.

Delegates of a certain age will recall a time when being a Baptist meant adherence to strict church-state separation. Politics were "of the world," and Baptists were admonished to keep their minds and hearts on higher things. That began to change in the late 1980s when three Houstonians - Paige Patterson, Judge Paul Pressler and Richard Land - executed a plan to take over the convention, enlist it in the social and political causes of the religious right and mobilize Southern Baptists as Christian soldiers marching in the ranks of the Republican Party.

Land recently retired as the powerful and controversial president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and Patterson and Pressler are less engaged, so the time may be right this week for a reassessment of the SBC's public role.

More of an intramural issue up for discussion has Southern Baptists looking back to the 16th century and the teachings of church reformer John Calvin. Calvinism, increasingly popular among a number of Southern Baptist ministers and seminaries, raises questions about who can be saved, the need for evangelism and Biblically ordained roles for men and women.

A true Calvinist believes in "predestination," the notion that Jesus' death on the cross was not for everyone but only for those predestined by God to be saved. About 30 percent of Southern Baptist pastors consider their congregations Calvinist, according to a recent SBC survey.

"The non-Calvinists worry that the Calvinist belief in predestination-election will reduce motivation for evangelism and missions," said Barry Hankins, a historian of religion at Baylor University.

Another issue likely to be up for discussion this week goes even deeper than the Calvinist debate. A few days ago Gallup announced the results of a survey in which 77 percent of Americans "say religion is losing its influence on American life," which represents "the most negative evaluation" of religion's influence since 1970. That finding and similar ones in recent years presents a challenge not only to Southern Baptists but also to believers of every stripe.

"That We May be One," is the convention theme. That hope may be a challenge among people of independent inclinations and strong beliefs, although on at least one matter our hope is that convention delegates are of one accord: Enjoy Houston. We're happy to have you.